I have…er, HAD a retrograde uterus and IUD time was always fun! After they jammed every possible device in there I’d hear the “Here comes the pinch!” warning. Pinch my ass! Stop yanking on it!!!
I had probably 5 IUD insertions and my gyno figured out early that giving Terror a tranquilizer while she was in the waiting room was best for everyone.
Interesting enough, after Terrorbaby was born, I still had my retrograde uterus. I had read that they straighten up after birth but as late as the 1920s they still thought women with retrogrades couldn’t get pregnant. <<according to my gyno>>
Now that you bring it up, Terror, it seems like I read somewhere that women with retrogrades did indeed have somewhat lower rates of fertility. It may be that having retrograde uterus was associated with other problems leading to reduced fertility, or it might be that the sperm were too proud to ask directions and couldn’t figure out where they were supposed to turn. Who knows?
My mother told me once that her doctor had told her she’d never get pregnant, so she tossed out her birth control pills and was in two months later worried because she’s missed two periods. (I’ll give you three guesses what the problem was. Go ahead, guess. ) She also told me that her uterus was very badly tilted, and finally just kind of fell over after having two kids, requiring a hysterectomy at the ripe old age of 25. These were two different conversations, though, and I can’t remember if the tilted uterus was related to being “infertile” or not. Hey, it was a long time ago and I wasn’t really paying attention. Teenagers tend to be that way during discussions of Mom’s reproductive tract.
Out of curiosity, what kind of IUD did you have, Terror? It surely wasn’t the copper T, unless you kept losing them. Those are good for 10 years, and the Mirena is good for five. Oh, wait, isn’t there some other hormonal one that has to be done every year or two?
I feel much, much better today. I only took one dose of Alleve yesterday, and haven’t had any today. It’s still too early to tell about spotting, really, since my period would just now be ending anyway. Now, I just have to get the little voice in the back of my head to shut up about perforated uteruses and how having sex will somehow drag it out of there, and I’ll be all set.
You know CCL… they told me I’d never be able to get pregnant too! I even took clomid to try and get pregnant and that failed. So I didn’t bother with birth control since after 4 years of no birth control and even with hormones to help me get pregnant there were no babies I figured the doctors were right.
I’m pregnant with my second child right now!
Oh and another thing to add to the list of stuff you don’t want to hear from your gyno: “my you have lumpy bumpy breasts” - um thanks?!
Glad to hear someone else had no success with clomid. I have heard almost nothing but praise and it hasn’t worked with me. I’ve had 2 partners in 9 years, 1 pregnancy that ended in miscarriage, and no success on having a baby. I’ve all but given up.
Um, is a bimanual exam what it sounds like? As in, Latin for “two-handed”? I’m aware that there are women for whom that sort of thing is somewhat routine, but I can’t imagine any plausible way to manage anything fitting that name, for most of the female population.
Apparently my uterus was retrograde, back in the day. The ob/gyn who told me it was laying down on the job asked if I had trouble getting pregnant and looked a little shocked when I laughed. No, sorry. No trouble at all. Definitely do not rely on it for birth control.
Yes, it’s Latin for “two-handed”, but not in the way you seem to be thinking. They insert a couple of fingers of one hand into the vagina and press up, and mash the everlovin’ shit out of your bladder with the other. Evidently the upward pressure from inside helps them palpate the uterus and ovaries.
Mirena intrigues me. I wonder what the cost of the actual device is? I wonder how soon after childbirth it can be inserted? How painful is it if you’ve had a child (I’m a big wuss). Will they give you anything stronger than an anti-inflammatory if you ask for it? I’m definitely interested in the prospect of lighter periods.
I have (had?) the same retroverted uterus. I had my GP give up when trying to do a pap test and send me to a specialist. It was mentioned at my colposcopy, every pelvic exam, transvag. ultrasound. I assume the situation has corrected itself (I’m pregnant, 2nd trimester) although I am curious if that has anything to do with the intense pelvic and abdominal pain I’ve had. Obviously, I also do not think anyone should worry (or count on) lessened fertility because of this. We certainly were not trying to have children.
Reasons why I have not, nor will I ever (barring pregnancy, which I really don’t plan on) go to a gynecologist: The word “bimanual” used in conjuction with my girly parts. Or, for that matter, dilator. Or speculum. Or really, any of that.
Back when I was a precocious 12 year old, I’d often read the medical textbooks my parents had lying around (Dad’s an RN, mom’s a Clinical Lab tech).
The bimanual exam reminded me of another kind of exam- the doctor was literally giving the woman ‘the shocker’, but I’m sure there is a much more official term for a doctor putting two fingers in the woman’s vagina and one finger in her anus.
Yikes, from what I’ve heard on the SDMB, Gynecology sounds like a method of torture devised speicifically toward women! :eek:
NinjaChick, if you ever become sexually active, you might want to go to a Gyno (as bad as the whole ordeal sounds) to get a pap smear. Otherwise its kind of like saying ‘I hate going to the dentist’ when not going can often make latent problems much worse.
Incubus, I had one of those exams once - and then the gyno pressed down hard on top. Erk…
You’re also right - it’s a very, very bad idea to avoid gynecological visits. Frankly, there’s a hell of a lot that can go wrong there if you’re sexually active. Cervical cancer, for one thing - HPV (human papilloma virus, IIRC) is present in probably a quarter of the population (last I read), and certain varieties can cause cancer. Plus there are all sorts of unknown causes of cervical cancer, and seriously, dealing with that will be a hell of a lot worse than sucking it up and seeing a gynecologist once a year. I’ve been going yearly for probably 15 years now, I have zero intentions of having a baby, and typically you get nothing worse than a breeze on your girly bits and a little discomfort, but regardless, you get the good feeling of knowing you’re all fine down there.
Yeah, as icky as it is, if you’re of the female persuasion you are well advised to see the gyno regularly. One of the many things they check for, which you would not notice on your own until it was far, far too late is ovarian cancer. I had what they called a “borderline lesion” that had grown in one ovary until it was at least baseball if not grapefruit size, and I felt absolutely fine. Had it been malignant, and had I not been going for regular checkups, I’d be dead now.
I did have an IUD once, and in the time between the insertion and my checkup, the little bugger navigated its way up a fallopian tube and took to wandering around my abdomen. I had to have it removed through a nice long slice across the belly.
Yeah, I know. I’m not sexually active, so I figure I can justify putting it off for at least a little bit more. After that, it gets added to my list of “things I avoid solely because I’ve got a stupid phobia”, right along with the dentist, the physician, and the opthamologist. (Plus, I figure the only problem I’ve ever had like that [seriously bad PMS/cramps] seems to have resolved itself [to the point of being able to self-treat with OTC drugs]).
Meh. You know what, after a while, you get used to 'em. Not in a, “Gee, I don’t have anything to do this afternoon, so maybe I’ll pop in for a quick pelvic examination!” way, but I’ve almost stopped dreading them. I mean, worrying about it and getting worked up over it is just silly, and doesn’t help, before or during. Don’t let yourself dwell on it. Just go, and cringe while they poke you and prod you and scrape your inmost bits, and think of England until it’s over.
Finding a gyno you like makes a HUGE difference, by the way, so if you’re not absolutely delighted with the person you’re seeing, try someone else the next time.
Frankly the worst part of it is when you have to wait, shivering, with nervous sweat running down your sides, naked except for that stoopid paper gown with that stoopid towel over your lap for like, three hours, in the examining room, which they conveniently keep at about 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
) She also told me that her uterus was very badly tilted, and finally just kind of fell over after having two kids, requiring a hysterectomy at the ripe old age of 25. These were two different conversations, though, and I can’t remember if the tilted uterus was related to being “infertile” or not. Hey, it was a long time ago and I wasn’t really paying attention. Teenagers tend to be that way during discussions of Mom’s reproductive tract.